2024 Linguistic Summer Institute of Taiwan

Syntactic Theory

This mini course will introduce foundational bases of generative linguistic theory, focusing on the essential concepts and methods for uncovering, describing, and explaining significant generalizations in natural language syntax. Topics include linguistic theory as a probe into the human mind, and grammatical theories of phrase structure, word order,  lexical restrictions, syntactic derivations (merge, agree and move); the principles-&-parameters theory and Minimalism. 

Understanding Silent Categories 

In human languages, certain parts in sentences may be left unexpressed, resulting in "silence". Despite this absence of explicit words or phrases, language users typically have no difficulty understanding the context and intended meaning behind the silence. What is even more intriguing is that silence itself can be categorized into different types, each with its own distinct grammatical properties and interpretive possibilities. Our discussion will delve into the various types of silence, examining how they are differentiated and characterized based on their syntactic properties and interpretive constraints. We will draw evidence and examples primarily from Chinese and English to illustrate these concepts. 

Semantic Theory

Formal semantics is the study of the relationship between the meaning structures of language and the way meaning is expressed. This course aims to introduce the basic concepts, theoretical frameworks, and analytical methods of formal semantics, using Chinese as a case study to illustrate how semantic composition works. Students will learn how to use logical tools to analyze linguistic structures and how syntactic structures map onto semantic interpretations.  Through this course, students will gain a deeper understanding of the precision of language and the rigor of semantic  expression. 

Syntax-Semantics 

Interface Categories 

This course introduces the methodology of exploring issues concerning how to map syntactic structures to their corresponding semantic and pragmatic representations. It aims to analyze various quantificational  constructions from the vantage point of interface studies, with an emphasis on  typological features such as scope isomorphism, silent modals and light verbs,  A-not-A questions, wh-conditionals and eventuality causation. 

Austronesian Syntax

In these lectures, we will approach three central questions in syntax through the lens of Austronesian languages and from two perspectives: that of description and that of formal theory.

1. How much variation is there in the syntax of natural languages?

2. How much uniformity is there in the syntax of natural languages?

3. What do questions 1 and 2 tell us about the design of Universal Grammar and language variation and change?

Building on concepts and methodologies developed in Syntax I, we will answer Questions 1-3 by exploring common syntactic phenomena found in several typologically diverse Austronesian languages. An emphasis will be placed on coherent argumentation and empirical justification for theoretical claims, as well as an overall understanding of theoretical concepts and tools. 

Plurality and Inferences

 of Multiplicity

This course focuses the meaning and use of plural forms (e.g., English books) in the nominal domain cross-linguistically. One view in current semantic theory sees the meaning of the plural as containing atomic individuals; hence, the denotation of books not only includes groups of books but also single individual ones. The inference of multiplicity, along with this view, may be derived through the mechanism designated for deriving scalar implicatures (e.g., Sauerland 2003; Sauerland et al. 2005; Spector 2007; and others). The course aims to provide an overview for such an implicature-based approach to plurals and show how this approach may account for the semantic and pragmatic properties of some Mandarin expressions that carry inferences of multiplicity. 

Dalina Kallulli

Ian Roberts

Coordination

This course introduces an updated syntactic analysis of coordinate constructions. It covers the relation between conjuncts, the properties of coordinators, and the relation between coordinate constructions and other constructions, especially modification constructions. In addition to the syntax of coordination, participants will learn how to find out the general natural laws under specific constructions. Handouts can be downloaded before the class. Evaluation will be based on the discussion in the class. 

Word Orders and Constituency of Numeral Classifiers and Numeral Bases

How many feet do three rabbits have? Is the multiplicative formula 3×4 or 4×3? Now consider the numeral (Num) san 三 ‘three’ and the classifier (C) zhi 隻‘C-animal’; the Chinese word order is Num-C, i.e., san zhi. Are there languages that have C-Num instead? Among Num, C, and N, mathematically, there are six orders: a) [Num C N], b) [N Num C], c) [C Num N], d) [N C Num], e) [C N Num], f) [Num N C]; how many are attested in languages? In a phrase formed with the three elements, does C merge first with Num or N? Then consider the numeral san bai 三 百 ‘three hundred’, both Chinese and English have the numeral base bai 百 ‘hundred’ at the end. Are there languages that say hundred three? We will observe the linguistic facts of these word order issues and explore the possible universal principles behind them. 

Clause Structure

This mini course introduces the clause structure from a generative syntactic perspective. We will examine the three major layers of clauses–VP, TP, and CP layers–and explore their interactions with other grammatical components, such as adverbials, grammatical aspects, and modality. Additionally, we will delve into the distinction between matrix and embedded clauses and investigate the issues surrounding clausal complementation. 

Austronesian Syntax

This course illustrates how a generative syntactician tackles typologically unique features attested in the Austronesian languages spoken in Taiwan (Formosan languages for short). We focus on the following important issues:

1.What is the nature of theso-called Philippine-type voice?

2.Are “raising applicatives” really attested in      Formosan languages?

3.Do adverbial verb all induce restructuring?

4.Can the Cartography Theory account for the distribution of inerrogative verbs?

5.Do verbs of quantity abyde by the Mapping Hypothesis (Diesing 1992)?

Discussions in connection with these issues will be firmly based on reliable examples of relevant Formosan languages .

The Bi Comparative:

 The Confluence of Comparison and Contrast

The Bi Comparative: The Confluence of Comparison and Contrast  Chinese bi comparatives can be divided into the phrasal and the clausal type.Regardless of the type, the preposition bi forms a PP adjunct with the constituent it introduces, and this adjunct must be adjoined to the left-hand side of the predicate of comparison to fulfill the preverbal condition on adjuncts (i.e., in Chinese, an adjunct must occur on the left-hand side of the predicate). Consequently, in the clausal bi comparative, the elliptical operation must be applied in a backward manner. Since the bi comparative is a type of contrastive focus construction, it must obey the conditions on contrastive focus construction (i.e., the c-command condition and the direct dominance condition) and the conditions on contrastive  elliptical construction. Neither the c-command condition nor the direct dominance condition is a stipulation; instead, they are the syntactic reflections of conditions on contrastive focus construction. 

Cartography

A verb's interpretation may vary depending on the selection of its objects. A sentence can yield diverse readings due to the adoption of different syntactic structures. At the discourse level, the interpretation of a sentence is further influenced by the speaker's intention, attitude, and contextual factors. This phenomenon, referred to as "force shift" (Yang & Tsai 2019; Tsai 2021) or "Subjectivity Scale Constraint" (Pan 2015, 2019), arising from the influence of the speaker, has gradually been integrated into syntactic structures with the development of the syntax-discourse interface. This trend towards exploring higher syntactic layers has emerged since the examination of left periphery structures initiated by Rizzi (1997) .

Topic/Focus

This mini course will introduce major issues of topic and focus constructions. It first presents major development of studies of topic in the frameworks of functional grammar and generative grammar. Then centering on the formal approach, this course covers approaches and debates of the topic structure, and extends to the distinctions among contrastive topic, focus, contrastive focus. The second session will discuss major focus structures including even related constructions (e.g., lian...dou and shenzhi), and shi...de sentences. Comparisons and asymmetries between these focus constructions and English even, cleft constructions are called for. The last part of the course will briefly touch on the notion of “topic” used in discourse and language processing model.